![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.nerallychamp.com\/newsimages\/bulletin_9201608091603Large.jpg\")
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The calendar may have indicated that the Tyneside Stages sponsored by\u00a0Retro Motorsport<\/strong>, was running on the first Sunday of August but the weather wasn\u2019t too kind to us on rallyday this year.\u00a0 Instead of rushing for the factor 50 this time we had to contend with a right whooly of a wind and when you\u2019re up on top of Cottonshope Head, you needed to hang onto everything before Storm Sophie whisked it away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Issues with the Army, Landmarc and tenant farmers restricted the availability of certain roads on the Otterburn military ranges but the joint efforts of Alnwick and Berwick Motor Clubs still managed a route of 60 competitive miles run over 12 stages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alex Laffey and Andrew Roughead sneaked in a late entry as some tarmac testing for the forthcoming Ulster Rally.\u00a0 Their Ford Fiesta R5 was quickly on the pace and running in 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0overall after the opening loop of 3 stages.\u00a0 They were able to hold onto this position until the last 4 tests and had to settle for another 3rd<\/sup>overall at this venue.\u00a0 A small matter of 12 seconds was the difference at the end of the day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taking 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0co-driver\u2019s points on the rally was Jack Morton.\u00a0 The youngster was sitting alongside the non-registered Thomas Preston again and they would bring home their very rapid Skoda Fabia a further 30 seconds adrift of our winners.\u00a0 The next crew along was event sponsor Barry Renwick with Paul Hughes sitting alongside in the Proton Millington.\u00a0 A bit of a cautious start found them down in 19th<\/sup>\u00a0place after the opening pair of tests but they quickly moved up to 13th<\/sup>\u00a0and then 12th<\/sup>\u00a0by the end.\u00a0 The intermittent electrical gremlins that have troubled the car over the recent 4 events appear to have been cured once the broken wire was discovered \/ replaced and some reliability returned.\u00a0 Some adjusting of the suspension for SS8 didn\u2019t help improve their times so they softened it back for the rest of the rally and picked up more good championship points.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alistair Hutchinson called on the services of his non-registered son Joe to guide him around Otterburn for this rally.\u00a0 Their Renault Clio was reliable apart from a little fuel pressure issue early on when they dropped about 15 seconds.\u00a0 The heavy drizzle that came for the last pair of stages made Alistair back off a little but he was bit too cautious on the final stage and recorded a time 16 seconds slower than the first run through the Watty Bells stage.\u00a0 This didn\u2019t affect his championship, but he seemed more peeved that he\u2019d lost 2 places overall and the class win by 1 second !<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next was Lee Hastings \/ Julie McGuire in one of Lee\u2019s Subaru Imprezas.\u00a0 They had contested the Solway Coast rally the day before and were quickly into a rhythm but then lost over 30 seconds with a slow run through the first Dudlees stage.\u00a0 Lee\u2019s only other issue came on the final test when he, like lots of other crews, was already feeling a bit nervous with the slippy conditions.\u00a0 Early into the test he came too quickly over a crest and a full 360 + spin found him stuck in the middle of the road.\u00a0 A quick bit of shuffling around and he was on his way with a loss over 20 seconds.\u00a0 Ken Bills was called up to co-drive for a man with a Mitsubishi Evo 9 from Bristol and he duly obliged for a steady trouble free run to 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0overall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neil Thompson was next despite his non-registered co-driver booking in 1 minute early at the first Riverside arrival control.\u00a0 A bit like Alistair Hutchinson, this didn\u2019t affect his championship, but he did lose 2 places overall and the class win.\u00a0 But after the opening Makendon stage I\u2019m sure that he\u2019d have gratefully accepted this result.\u00a0 Before the rally he\u2019d decided on a last minute check on the Corsa and found the rear geometry was out a little !\u00a0 Another beam was quickly sourced and fitted on Friday night.\u00a0 Then on Saturday Neil was unhappy with the engine so he stripped and rebuilt the oil pump only to overfill the engine with oil.\u00a0 Once on the ranges the car felt sluggish and a blue plume of smoke followed the white Vauxhall everywhere.\u00a0 It was no surprise that the crew were down in 77th<\/sup>\u00a0place after stage 2 so a good recovery to 29th<\/sup>\u00a0back at the final control was very noteworthy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The son and father combination of Graham and David Malthouse were another 3 places back.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t competed since the Jack Frost but the 6-month layoff didn\u2019t work against them.\u00a0 Their Mitsubishi Evo 6 ran reliably and they gently moved up the leaderboard as the day wore on.\u00a0 Kenny Moore and Richard Wardle had a steady day in the lovely Hillman Avenger and with no problems to record, Kenny seemed to be relieved and happy to finish in one piece.\u00a0 Just 2 seconds behind them in 35th<\/sup>\u00a0position was Tom Middlemiss with Richard Stewart sitting alongside him.\u00a0 They rolled out Tom\u2019s other car, the ex Kev Monaghan Vauxhall Corsa, for the first time in almost 12 months when they last contested a rally at Epynt.\u00a0 Tom was another happy man with no car problems to report.\u00a0 After a slow start, the times got better in the afternoon runs as they headed up the score sheets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John Nicholson \/ Peter Littlefield were another crew to record a clean run mechanically with their only \u2018time loss\u2019 on SS1.\u00a0 They believe that the nominal time they were awarded for being held up on this opening stage dropped them in the region of 20 or so seconds.\u00a0 But like others recorded earlier, a couple of places were lost but this didn\u2019t affect their championship.\u00a0 And right behind the Historic Ford Escort was a more modern Renault Clio being crewed by Tom and Sue Hynd. At the end of the morning loops, the husband and wife team were placed 52nd<\/sup>\u00a0yet as the day progressed they moved up the leaderboard to finish 44th<\/sup>.\u00a0 It had been a bit of a \u2018character building\u2019 day as they changed suspension parts all day trying to find some improvements.\u00a0 Finishing in 46th<\/sup>\u00a0place and taking top championship points in their class were Stephen Bethwaite and Ann Forster.\u00a0 Despite a poor seeding of 82, the West Cumbria CC team continued to enjoy another dose of good reliability with the little 1400 Vauxhall Nova.\u00a0 They tried pushing on a bit more in the afternoon\u2019s stages but found their limit before they managed to go over it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gary Laverick was a very happy man back at the last Airstrips main control as he achieved his ambition of finishing a rally at Otterburn.\u00a0 His first attempt at the rally was 12 months earlier and he only managed about 3 miles then but this time he performed a lot better.\u00a0 The Ford Puma wasn\u2019t working too well over the first lap and actually struggled to get out of 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0gear going up the hill out of Watty Bells on the first Dudlees test.\u00a0 A blocked fuel filter was sorted out in first service and the times started to get better.\u00a0 A steady run to 50th<\/sup>\u00a0at the finish made both him and Phil Kenny quite content.\u00a0 Nigel and Helen Harkness struggled for most of the day with gearbox issues.\u00a0 Apparently, the Vauxhall Corsa would allow them to use 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0gear going along a straight but when going around corners it was another matter, as it just would not engage.\u00a0 Seems like a project to sort out another day when back at home and they were classified as 54th<\/sup>\u00a0overall.\u00a0 Our final finisher was yet another family combination crew of Jeff and Owen Malthouse.\u00a0 Their fairly standard Peugeot 205 was reunited with a 1900cc motor since it\u2019s last outing at Croft and performed without a problem.\u00a0 The driver felt he was slow \u2018out of the box\u2019 but happier that his times got better as the day went on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our list of retirements is fairly short and starts with newcomers to the venue Alistair Has and Chris Lees approaching the flying finish of the opening stage when the back end of their Peugeot 205 stepped out over a cattle grid, nose dug in to the grass banking and over and over it went.\u00a0 Thankfully both crew members were unhurt.\u00a0 Next it was Andy Brown\u2019s turn as he was co- driving for the unregistered Tim Seipel; the clutch on their MG ZR failed on the start line for SS6 and although they made it to the end of the stage even after a spin but were unable to repair the clutch in service.\u00a0 Kevin Mathers and Craig Forsyth also dropped out after stage 6 having stopped during the stage with gear selection issues.\u00a0 He got going after a couple of minutes but the box gave up the ghost having lost about 6 minutes in the test.\u00a0 Stage 7 accounted for Stuart Walker when he ran wide off the road a few inches into a big hole and broke rear hub.\u00a0 After two jacks, some ratchet straps and cable ties he got it squared up and drove the car back to service and OTL. Gareth White \/ Harry Marchbank had a great morning and were up to 26th overall and 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0in class with their Peugeot 208.\u00a0 Then on SS8 were flat in 4th<\/sup>\u00a0before clicking 5th<\/sup>\u00a0gear and the engine cried enough dropping onto 3 cylinders and game over. A closer inspection revealed dropped valves in cylinder 3 and 4\u00a0!\u00a0 The same stage also claimed the Knox brothers in their new mount of a BMW M3.\u00a0 Some teething troubles slowed them a little in the morning but when the fan broke and went in to radiator, it was time for an early bath for them too.\u00a0 And our final retirees were David and Mathew White who came off second best after a close inspection of a chicane on the first run through DavyShiel, damaged radiator was the end result.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As ever we must record our thanks to Alnwick and Berwick Motor Clubs for their efforts in coming up with an event in more challenging times and yet they managed to stick with a tight time schedule.\u00a0 The Otterburn Ranges continues to provide a huge contest against man and machine that still bites back when pushed over the limit.\u00a0 Fortunately there were no injuries again and we had very few retirements, which is always good to see.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next qualifying round, and our penultimate championship event, is the Pendragon Stages.\u00a0 This will take place on Sunday 11th<\/sup>\u00a0September and similar to previous years, the event will utilise the military roads on Warcop Ranges near Brough where 72 competitive miles are being laid on.\u00a0 The Regulations were published recently and the organisers already have their 80 guaranteed entries with a reserve list for the remaining 10 that they will choose. The rally website is\u00a0http:\/\/www.pendragonstages.co.uk\/<\/a>where you\u2019ll find more information.<\/p>\n The calendar may have indicated that the Tyneside Stages sponsored by\u00a0Retro Motorsport, was running on the first Sunday of August but the weather wasn\u2019t too kind to us on rallyday this year.\u00a0 Instead of rushing for the factor 50 this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[28,14,25,36,35,13,8,42,34,7],"post_series":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":926,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"